Quicker results predicted despite “lack of political will” from General Assembly to improve counting process And former officials plead with media: “Be thoughtful about unintended consequences of election reporting.” PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Oct. 4, 2024) – Several election law authorities, elected officials, election administration experts, and others discussed potential mail-in ballot counting delays, the challenges of reporting on inaccurate fraud claims, and other election dynamics on the horizon in Pennsylvania. The discussion took place during an online event with media hosted by the Election Overtime Project, which supports journalists in their coverage of close and contested elections. Election Overtime is an initiative of the Election Reformers Network (ERN). The event, “Journalists: Preparing for Pennsylvania Election Overtime,” featured a panel of esteemed experts including Judge John Jones, retired chief judge ofthe U.S. Middle District Court of Pennsylvania, who presided over critical 2020 election challenges; former Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar, who was a defendant in suits filed by President Donald Trump; Jennifer Morrell, a leading consultant on election administration and auditing; and Emma Shoucair, a legal specialist focused on voting issues. The event was the third in a series of election media briefings that will continue through the election cylce. (A video of the briefing is available here.) Panelists agreed that state election officials are in a good position to finish the count earlier this year than in 2020, when “four excruciating days” passed before Pennsylvania issued preliminary results, in the words of election attorney Emma Shoucair. Shoucair cited several reasons for the 2020 delay, including the pandemic and the very recent adoption of universal mail-in voting, which was passed at the end of 2019. Reasons to expect a quicker turnaround in 2024, according to Shoucair, include that “the boards of elections have refined their processes for counting mail-in ballots and have invested in additional personnel and equipment.” But there are still structural hurdles. “What folks need to know,” said Judge Jones, “is that because our General Assembly lacks the political will to fix a broken election code, we do not have appropriate pre-canvassing [preparing mailed ballots for tabulation] in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. That’s a dreadful flaw, and it leads to delayed results. It will be a couple of days, which will lead into the narrative that there have been these phantom vote drops and something nefarious going on. And that’s not it at all.” Judge Jones urged reporters to reality test allegations before reporting on them. Former Secretary Boockvar agreed, and she pleaded with journalists on the call to be informed and thoughtful about their election reporting. Boockvar pointed out the importance of not allowing reporting the news of something outrageous said by a politician look like confirmation of that politician’s statement. That “can end up unintentionally becoming a source of disinformation that then leads to threats against election officials,” she explained. Jennifer Morrell, the co-founder of The Elections Group, cautioned against misrepresenting audits and recounts as an indication that voting results are flawed. “An audit is a routine part of the post-election process,” Morrell explained. “It’s designed to ensure the systems work as expected. It’s not a bad word. A recount is performed in response to something that happened in a specific contest, such as a close margin, or it could be initiated automatically by statute or requested by a candidate.” Getting more information in circulation about these procedural elements of election is the goal of the “Election Overtime Project.” The project website offers a comprehensive set of resources for journalists including guides for reporting on election transparency, verification processes, and judicial procedures. The program also offers an extensive speaker bureau to connect journalists with expert commentary for local and national coverage. The program focuses on Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. As ERN Executive Director Kevin Johnson explained, the program is anchored in the idea that, just as in sports, “who won an election is not a subjective question. It’s amatter of fact and a matter of law.” Johnson stressed the importance of helping “voters see the full process of what happens when elections are close and ‘go into overtime” so that it will be “well known and clear that elections, too, have rules that make it absolutely clear who won.” ERN Vice President Heather Balas called attention to key facts voters should know about presidential elections that are summarized here on the Election Overtime website. “We believe that sound news coverage of the election process – not just of the horse race – is crucial to the future of our democratic republic,” said Balas. “So, with humility, we offer our support to the hardworking election reporters of this nation.” Materials under this program have been produced with the generous support of The Carter Center, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, and the Bridge Alliance. The contents are the responsibility of the Election Reformers Network and do not necessarily reflect the views of its funders. ELECTION REFORMERS NETWORK Election Reformers Network advances election innovations that protect democracy from polarization. ERN favors neither the left nor the right and pursues policy change to ensure the institutions running U.S. elections are as impartial as possible. -- Note: The Election Overtime Team will be your reliable support system throughout the election season.
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Experts warn of election vulnerabilities in Arizona: intimidation near polling places, election official turnover, and insufficient knowledge by voters about election proceduresNew “Election Overtime” platform provides legal briefs and speaker bureau to support factual, rapid reporting for Arizona journalists PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Oct. 2, 2024) – To support Arizona journalists with the unique job of covering close and contested elections, The Election Reformers Network(ERN) and the Arizona Democracy Resilience Network convened a distinguished panel of seven election law authorities, elected officials, media experts, and others on September 30th to unveil Arizona-specific briefings that are a featured part of the “Election Overtime Project” – a set of resources including: litigation monitoring; guides for reporting on election transparency, verification processes, and judicial procedures; and an extensive speaker bureau to connect journalists with expert commentary for local and national coverage. The program focuses on Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The event, “Journalists: Preparing for Arizona Election Overtime,” was the second in a series of media briefings designed to as Election Day approaches. Don Henninger, former editor of the Arizona Republic, spoke of the incredibly important function of journalists in the democratic process. “The job that journalists do today has never been more important, and it’s never been more difficult,” said Henninger, a Republican and senior advisor to the Arizona Democracy Resilience Network. “The threat of violence that we face today is real.We’ve seen intimidation at the ballot drop boxes. We’ve seen a Democrat campaign office now shot at two weeks in a row. The most important tool to build trust in our elections and prevent political unrest is sound, accurate,and timely reporting.” Former Congressman Ron Barber, a Democrat who represented Arizona’s 2nd and 8th Congressional districts, highlighted an inherent challenge Arizona will likely face due to the high turnover in county election offices. “Because of the harassment surrounding recent elections, 12 out of 15 counties in Arizona have lost their election officials,” Congressman Barber said. “That means either the recorder who puts together their ballot or the election director who manages the elections, or in some instances both, resigned. And it’s because these people are sick and tired of being under threat. So, we’ve lost a lot of institutional knowledge that could have helped us prepared for 2024.” Arizona State Senator Ken Bennett, who also served as Arizona’s Secretary of State from 2009 to 2014,offered insights into the realities of election administration. “Elections are not perfect because the people who run elections are not perfect,” said Senator Bennett. “Errors can be made, but they are usually unintentional, and they do not change the outcome of an election.” Bennett recalled an extraordinary close election during his time in office, in which a state-wide ballot initiative lost by only 126 votes, triggering an automatic recount. The recount meant that “the results changed by 42 votes out of two million,” Sen. Bennett noted, highlighting the extraordinary accuracy in the election procedures, which recounts and audits serve to confirm. Jackie Salit, president of IndependentVoting.org, emphasized the role independents play in elections. “Independents have chosen the last three presidents of the United States. They broke for Barack Obama by 8 points in 2008, for Donald Trump by 4 points in 2016, and by 13 points for the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020. In the last presidential election, 40 percent of the electorate in Arizona were independents. So, the expectation is that 2024 independent voter turnout will be key.” Panelist Jenny Flynn, representing the Local News Fund of Southern Arizona, offered perspectives on her organization’s investments in newsrooms, wanting local news to provide information their audiences most need. She offered advice for journalists doing the difficult and complex job of covering close and contested elections. “I hope that the reporters will spread the word about the Election Overtime Project,” Flynn said. “Take advantage of the speaker’s bureau, the research resources, and the incredible folks on this panel.” “As a journalist, you probably don’t have time to go through a 400-page election policy manual of procedures, regulations, and statutes when you’re on a deadline,” said ERN Vice President Heather Balas. “So, we talked with reporters about what they would most likely need to know and collected the most relevant legal details for close or contested races. We believe that sound news coverage of the election process – not just the horse race – is crucial to the future of our democratic republic. So, with humility, we offer our support to the hardworking election reporters of this nation.” Two panelists, ERN Executive Director Kevin Johnson and Sen. Bennett, drew on sports metaphors in describing elections and recounts. “There’s a simple analogy behind this program: sports fans trust the final score win or lose, and part of the reason for that is they really know the rules,” said Johnson. “Wouldn’t it be great if America voters came to know as much about the rules of elections as 9-year-old sports fans know about the rules of football?” -- Note: The Election Overtime Team will be your reliable support system throughout the election season. Michigan Journalists: Get Ready for Election Overtime. New Tools for Covering Contested Elections to be Unveiled October 9th 1:00 pm ET.Access election law guides, court case trackers, and speaker bureau for rapid-reporting support. Michigan (Oct. 1, 2024) – On Wednesday, October 9th, a new set of complementary tools designed to support reporting on contested elections will be unveiled by Election Reformers Network, Michiganders for Civic Resilience, and other election law experts. The “Election Overtime” project will provide journalists covering the 2024 general election with media briefings by election specialists; guides for reporting on election transparency, verification processes, and judicial procedures; and an extensive speaker bureau. WHAT: Michigan Election Overtime media briefing, including new polling data, state-specific legal resources, and cross-partisan in-state sources for election reporting (fourth in a national series). WHO:
WHEN: Wednesday, October 9, 2024, 1:00pm -2:00 pm Eastern Time WHERE: Register now for the online event. -- Note: The Election Overtime Team will be your reliable support system throughout the election season. Platform provides state-specific guides and a speakers bureau available for factual, rapid reporting.(Sept. 30, 2024) – To support journalists with the unique job of covering close and contested elections, The Election Reformers Network (ERN) convened a distinguished panel of 10 election law authorities, election officials, media experts, and others September 24th to launch the “Election Overtime Project” – a set of resources including state-specific legal guides, national and local media briefings, a speaker’s bureau to connect journalists with expert commentary for local and national coverage, and litigation monitoring. The program focuses on Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The event, “Journalists: Preparing for Election Overtime,” featured election, democracy, and policy experts, including elected officials and presidential legal counsel. They included Democrats, Republicans, and independents. “Journalists rarely have time to go through a 400-page election policy manual of procedures, regulations, and statutes when they are on deadline,” said ERN Vice President Heather Balas. “So, we talked with reporters about what they needed and collected the relevant legal details for close or contested races. We believe that sound news coverage of the election process – not just the horse race – is crucial to the future of our democratic republic. So, with humility, we offer our support to the hardworking election reporters of this nation.” Over 150 members of the press and public took part in the online forum, the first in a series of focused media briefings as Election Day approaches. “The Election Overtime information is organized around the three pillars that support the trustworthiness of close and contested elections – transparency, verification, and judicial review,” said ERN Executive Director Kevin Johnson. “This is not the Vatican, where everyone stands outside and waits to see if white smoke emerges. Candidates have agency in our elections. They and their observers are part of the process, and voters need to understand that better.” Jason Carter, Chair of The Carter Center Board of Trustees and grandson of President Jimmy Carter, has observed international elections, and stressed journalists' critical role in setting the stage for a peaceful transfer of power. “I’ve seen elections in a variety of countries and contexts, and I have also seen that when the press works well, informing about the elections in advance, it helps to drive home how elections operate. That simple educational process can dramatically reduce the risk of political violence while increasing the ability for voters to respect the outcomes,” Carter said. “What we’ve observed in elections worldwide, is that when there is an election irregularity, stories about what went wrong can travel like wildfire. So, the question is, how can reporters sort that out, and provide the most accurate information voters need? This Election Overtime program is part of that answer.” Ben Ginsberg, legal counsel to four of the last six Republican presidential nominees, offered a related point. “The key for reporters will be demanding evidence for any allegations made. Journalists need to ask repeatedly, ‘What’s the hard, solid evidence?’” Ginsberg also urged all election reporters to get to know the elections officials in their areas, especially in counties where races are predicted to be close. Panelist Kim Wyman, former Washington Secretary of State, cautioned against running with unsubstantiated assumptions or allegations and exercising patience with election officials. “Mistakes in elections do happen, but don’t always believe the rhetoric that there was bad intent behind them,” Wyman said. “In my 30-plus years of doing this, election results have never been final on election night. The people calling the races then are media outlets – and that can lead to false assumptions.” Rashad Mahmood, veteran journalist and executive director of the New Mexico Local News Fund, offered perspectives for fellow reporters on covering close and contested elections. “You know, if you had asked people ahead of the 2020 election, what are some of the problems that you’re likely to see? A county commissioner refusing to certify a legal election was not on people’s bingo cards. And that’s why having these resources ahead of time is so important.” Mahmood continued: “As journalists, we need to be devoted to the truth and to helping people understand the underlying dynamics, laws and ground truth of what’s really going on. We need to be familiar with the law and processes so if someone’s blowing smoke and not being accurate, we are comfortable calling that out because we have detailed knowledge.” Recognizing that reporters will also have to understand the key role that election observation plays in our country, and around the globe, expert Carmen López provided key context. Her firm supports communities to build a representative and accessible democracy. “Election observation occurs in every state in this country and in hundreds of countries around the world. Observers adhere to the principles of non-interference, fact-based intervention, and reporting, and their attention is on the process, not on the outcome of the election.” The two final speakers, Ari Mittleman, Keep Our Republic executive director, and David Nevins, co-founder of the governance-and-democracy-focused publication The Fulcrum, offered specific resources for journalists from their organizations. Mittleman urged the audience to review the joint, bipartisan letter signed by governors across the nation urging states to certify electors by the federal deadline. Nevins encouraged reporters to utilize a dedicated Election Overtime series of articles and editorials published at The Fulcrum, which are available for reprint. He also invited reporters to send in their own national election reporting on the rule of law, for potential reprint in the same collection. -- Note: The Election Overtime Team will be your reliable support system throughout the election season. Election Journalists: Senior political leaders from both parties will lead briefings next week in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina to focus on the mechanics of close and contested elections ahead.Access election law guides, court case trackers, and speaker bureau for rapid-reporting support.
(Sept. 25, 2024) – Election journalists: your role covering the 2024 general election is crucial. Election Reformers Network, state and national partners, and other election law experts will provide webinar-based media briefings in seven swing states in the coming weeks to support coverage of close and contested elections this November. The program starts next week in Arizona September 30, Pennsylvania October 2nd, and North Carolina October 4th. The Election Overtime Project provides media briefings by election law experts; guides for reporting on election transparency, verification processes, and judicial procedures; and an extensive speaker bureau for commentary. We invite you to join any of the state briefings over the next three weeks. Click here for the schedule. WHAT: Election Overtime media briefings including new polling data, state-legal resources and cross-partisan in-state sources for election reporting. Events are scheduled in seven states. Next up are briefings in Arizona September 30, Pennsylvania October 2nd, and North Carolina October 4th. WHO: Some of the speakers for the first three events are listed below:
WHEN:
WHERE: Click here for registration for all events. -- Note: The Election Overtime Team will be your reliable support system throughout the election season. North Carolina Journalists: Get Ready for Election Overtime! New Tools for Covering Contested Elections to be Unveiled October 4th 11:00 amAccess election law guides, court case trackers, and speaker bureau for rapid-reporting support. MEDIA ADVISORY – NORTH CAROLINA (Sept. 25, 2024) – On Friday, October 4th, a new set of complementary tools designed to support reporting on contested elections will be unveiled by the Election Reformers Network, the North Carolina Network for Fair, Safe & Secure Elections, and other election law experts. The “Election Overtime” project will provide journalists covering the 2024 general election with media briefings by election specialists; guides for reporting on election transparency, verification processes, and judicial procedures; and an extensive speaker bureau.
WHAT: North Carolina Election Overtime media briefing, including new polling data, state-specific legal resources, and cross-partisan in-state sources for election reporting (fourth in a national series). WHO:
WHEN: Friday, October 4, 2024, 11:00am -12:00 pm Eastern Time WHERE: Register now for the online event. -- Note: The Election Overtime Team will be your reliable support system throughout the election season. Pennsylvania Journalists: Get Ready for Election Overtime. New Tools for Covering Contested Elections to be Unveiled October 2nd, 2:30pm.Access election law guides, court case trackers, and speaker bureau for rapid-reporting support.
MEDIA ADVISORY – PENNSYLVANIA (Sept. 25, 2024) – On Wednesday, October 2nd, a new set of complementary tools designed to support reporting of contested elections will be unveiled by the Election Reformers Network and other election law experts. The “Election Overtime” project will provide journalists covering Pennsylvania’s 2024 general election with media briefings by election specialists; guides for reporting on election transparency, verification processes, and judicial procedures; and an extensive speaker bureau. WHAT: Pennsylvania Election Overtime media briefing, including new polling data, state legal resources, and cross-partisan in-state sources for election reporting (third in a national series). WHO:
WHEN: Wednesday, October 2, 2024, 2:30 pm-3:30 pm Eastern Time WHERE: Register now for the online event. -- Note: The Election Overtime Team will be your reliable support system throughout the election season. Arizona Journalists: Are You Ready for Election Overtime? New Tools for Covering Contested Elections to be UnveiledAccess election law guides, court case trackers, and speaker bureau for rapid-reporting support.
MEDIA ADVISORY – ARIZONA (Sept. 20,2024) – On Monday, September 30th a new set of complementary tools designed to support reporting on contested elections will be unveiled by the Election Reformers Network, the Arizona Democracy Resiliency Network and other election law experts. The “Election Overtime” project will provide journalists covering Arizona’s 2024 general election with media briefings by election specialists, guides for answering questions on election transparency, verification processes, and judicial procedures, and an extensive speaker bureau. WHAT: Arizona Election Overtime media briefing, including state-specific legal resources and cross-partisan in-state sources for election reporting (second in a national series) WHO:
WHEN: Tuesday, September 30, 2024, 11:00 am-12:00pm Mountain Standard Time (2:00 pm-3:00 pm Eastern Time) WHERE: Register now for the online event. -- Note: The Election Overtime Team will be your reliable support system throughout the election season. Tools include election law guides, court case trackers, and speakers’ bureau for factual, rapid reporting support.MEDIA BRIEFING – (Sept. 18, 2024) – Election journalists: your role as reporters covering the 2024 general election is crucial. We invite you to join the Election Reformers Network and other election law experts as they launch access to the “Election Overtime Project” – a series of complementary tools designed to support you in your unique job of covering close and contested elections this November.
The Election Overtime Project includes media briefings by election law experts, resources including guides for answering questions on election transparency, verification processes, and judicial procedures, and an extensive speaker bureau for commentary. You are welcome to submit questions for a Q&A session at the end of the event. What: Election Overtime media briefing, project launch, and release of new survey data on voter knowledge of election process Who: Speakers include:
Where: Register for the virtual event here. -- Note: The Election Overtime Team will be your reliable support system throughout the election season. |
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The Election Overtime team stands ready to help reporters with questions about this guide, state election law, or specific incidents that occur prior to or after voting.
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